Autumn Grocery List For Women’s Weight Loss & Hormone Balance
- Emma Lisa
- 15 hours ago
- 10 min read
If you’re planning on getting healthier and fit this autumn/winter season, this is the Nutritionist's grocery list with healthy, clean eating foods to support your weight loss goals that you didn't know you needed. I've rounded up my top food suggestions that naturally compliment the female hormonal system, and that will leave you feeling more satisfied this winter. Ready? Let's shop for health, clean, wholefoods that nourish and stock up your autumn pantry!
Why Seasonal Eating Matters
Well, hello month of May! If you've been feeling a little "meh" lately, snackish, low mood and craving comfort foods—you’re not alone. As the summer heat begins to fade and mornings start to feel a little crisp, your body will naturally begin to crave foods that marry the season. Autumn generally invokes a slower, cruiser rhythm with more grounding, slow cooker meals, mugs of spiced milk, and other warming ingredients that naturally support your body's immunity, energy and hormonal balance.
The right foods can really help your body adjust to the new season, it's shorter days, cooler nights and low key energy vibes. During the cooler months it is an excellent time to clean up your diet and purposely eat to glow from within as you ease into the new season embracing fresh, warm flavours and meals. Here's my Nutritionist's hot take on what to grab at the shops to welcome healthy autumn eating.
Autumn Grocery List For Weight Loss
The tendency in the cooler season is to lean into eating more fatty, higher carb foods and go for hot or heated foods, rather than fresh and chilled. To help you avoid overdoing the calories and consuming too much of the processed stuff, stock up on the following:
Stock Up On High Protein Ingredients
Protein-based meals will keep you feeling fully satisfied after eating and take longer to digest than processed carbs. Build your autumn plate around these foods to maintain weight loss:
almonds, hemp seeds, and pistachios: clean sources of plant protein and healthy fats
eggs: enjoy them scrambled poached, hard-boiled or gooey soft with 6g of protein per egg
beef: grass-fed red meat is very low carb and high in iron and vitamin-Bs; pair with veggies
chicken: lean and organic, chicken lends itself to many recipes and it is also very low carb
Greek yoghurt: plain, unsweetened yoghurt is an easy protein source for breakfast or lunches
lentils: stock up on canned chickpeas, split peas, black beans for an easy protein source
prawns: lean and light, prawns provide protein and work well in many recipes, (fresh or frozen)
salmon: a healthy fish with omega-3s and excellent source of clean protein, (fresh or frozen)
soy tofu & tempeh: plantbased protein that takes on the flavour of any dish or recipe
whey protein powder: choose a low sugar product from grass-fed cows for smoothies or baking
For weight loss, purposely build your plate around these protein sources. These clean eating pantry ingredients will help support your muscle gains from weight loss workouts and help reduce your appetite naturally at the same time.
Include Plenty of Dietary Fibre
Adding foods that are rich in dietary fibre is a ridiculously easy way to fill up on less food during your weight loss journey. Unlike restrictions which detract, adding in more fibre into your diet helps to bulk up your plate with densely nutritious ingredients. Pair these high fibre, clean eating foods with a lean source of protein to build your autumn plate:
avocados: while usually considered for their healthy fat, avos are also very high in fibre
beans & lentils: a double whammy of fibre and plantbased protein, stock plenty of cans
berries (all types): nutritiously low carb and high in fibre, add to salads, desserts and smoothies
celery: considered negative caloric, celery is great high fibre veggie to add to the menu
chia seeds: very high in fibre and nutritious, add to yoghurt, milk or use in any baking
dates, prunes, sultanas: naturally sweet and delicious but also high in fibre
high fibre bread: stock up on breads high in fibre and from whole grains or sourdough
fruits: try semi-green bananas, kiwi, mangoes, persimmons and apple or pear with the peel
leafy green vegetables: more than just fibre, dark leafy greens provide many essential nutrients
psyllium husk: found in most grocers, this fibre product is easily added to baking or smoothies
rice cakes: ditch bread and opt for high fibre rice or quinoa cakes for snacks and meals
rolled or steel-cut oats: a high fibre meal in itself, oats go great in baking, as granola or in smoothies
My list could go on and on, but at least this will get you started thinking about what high fibre ingredients you can start looking for at the shops. Aim add 30g of fibre to every main meal for the most benefit, and be sure to increase your water intake to help compensate and avoid constipation.
Hormonal Support
Let's not forget our hormonal system this autumn. As the season shifts, so do our tastes and dietary needs. Here's my top picks for clean eating and women's hormonal support while losing weight:
bone broth: packed with collagen, glycine, and minerals for gut, skin, and hormone balance
caraway seeds: reduce digestive bloating, supports estrogen metabolism, use in cooking or teas
dandelion tea: lower your cortisol with this healthy, caffeine-free coffee substitute
dulse flakes, kelp, seaweed: provides and iodine boost and supports thyroid health
fermented foods: kefir, Kimchi, Greek or plain yogurt, and sauerkraut for probiotics
leeks: excellent pre-biotics for your gut health and acts as an estrogen detox
maca root: a superfood that helps balance fluctuating hormones and improves libido
miso paste: a fermented food rich in probiotics and plant-based estrogens
parsley: flushes excess estrogen and is rich in vitamin K and folate for hormone regulation
raw cacao: excellent raw chocolate superfood that provides essential magnesium
red cabbage: powerful phytonutrients that help with estrogen balance and inflammation
sardines: rich in omega-3s, vitamin D, and calcium, amazing for bone and hormone health
Adding these foods to your autumn menu and meal planning will not only help to support your weight loss goals with clean eating, these ingredients also provide essential nutrients for better balanced and more regulated hormones.
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10 Autumn Weight Loss Recipe Ideas
Ready to make 10 healthy, clean eating recipes that will help support your weight loss during the winter months? Then you'll first want to bookmark this page or email it to yourself for handy reference. I've rounded up some of my favourite, Nutritionist-approved clean eating recipes that are deeply nourishing for autumn and provide all the essential nutrition your body needs this time of year. Napkins ready, let's cook together!
Mango Turmeric Smoothie
Ingredients
An autumn breakfast smoothie made in less than 2-minutes, this recipe provides a heaping serve of protein to balance your appetite and spices that have warming properties perfect for autumn. To make it, add half a mango to a blender with unsweetened almond milk, 40g of vanilla protein powder, 2-3 organic dates, a small scoop of psyllium husk, a teaspoon of maca root, plus a teaspoon each of ginger and turmeric powder. If you like thicker smoothies, add a handful of ice for that creamy, soft-serve ice cream consistency. I love topping this with a dusting of cinnamon, homemade granola and coconut flakes.
Cinnamon Toasted Apple Parfait
Ingredients
This clean eating recipe runs on repeat in my household all winter long. It's so delicious and easy to make. Just toss chopped apple in a hot skillet with pure butter and ground cinnamon. Sauté until the apples become golden and tender, then add a few spoonful's to a glass serving jar with layers of plain Greek yoghurt and granola for a delicious autumn breakfast or desert. Toasted apples are also lovely used as a topping for nut butter toasties, or as a sweetly cinnamon topper to cream cheese on a rice or quinoa cake.
Almond Vanilla Chia Pudding
Ingredients
Enjoy this clean eating breakfast or as a dessert, it's so easy to make. In fact, your fridge does all the cooking for you! Simply stir together chia seeds, coconut milk and a little vanilla with your preferred sweetener such as stevia, organic honey or maple syrup. Let this mixture sit in the fridge overnight to thicken and form a delightful pudding-like texture. Serve the chia pudding with fresh berries, chopped nuts and a drizzle of raw nut butter like almond or cashew. This recipe is equally as nice when made with a little raw cacao to make a chocolate version. Want more chia pudding recipe ideas like this, click here.
Protein Powder Pancakes
Ingredients
Whisk vanilla protein powder with water or unsweetened plant milk, 2 eggs, chia seeds, ground psyllium husk and a little cinnamon. Cook the batter as you would crepes in a greased or non-stick pan. These high protein gluten-free pancakes make a delicious gourmet brekkie when topped with fresh berries, nut butter or homemade compote jam. If you like the sounds of this, come try all my healthy gluten-free pancake recipes, click here.
Garlic Asparagus & Salmon
Ingredients
Garlic is staple on my autumn menu which I use to help ward off colds and flu, and one super tasty way to get a hearty dose is by steaming asparagus and lightly tossing the stems in garlic and pure butter. Pair this, or other garlic seasoned veggies, with a low carb, high protein serving of grilled salmon served with the skin on for a nourishing warm lunch or clean eating dinner idea.
Stuffed Bean Sweet Potato
Ingredients
You make this clean eating dinner as savory or as spicy as you like by sautéing black or kidney beans in garlic, turmeric and chili spices with a little tomato paste. Once the beans are soften and flavourful, add to a oven baked or air-fried sweet potato and top with a little guacamole and sour cream. This is such an easy meal to make and can be repeated many times during the week simply by swapping the baked potato for hollowed out eggplant, zucchini, capsicums, or tomatoes. Try stuffing the vegetables with taco or fajita filling, creamy beef risotto, spicy sausage or a cheesy broccoli chicken filling.
Quinoa Buddha Bowl
Ingredients
This salad bowl is served warm for those cooler nights, and is the ideal way to use up leftovers. To make, lay a small cup of cooked, miso- seasoned quinoa to the bottom of a serving bowl. Add toppings in small sections and work your way around the bowl until it is full. Try a handful of spinach, watercress or wilted kale, a spoonful or two of chickpeas or butter beans, and add in roasted pumpkin or sweet potato, caramelised capsicums or onions, and any leftover cooked vegetables you have on hand. A small serving of kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted or pickled veggies or chilis can make for a very flavourful bowl. You make these fully plantbased and use it for Meat-free Mondays or enjoy the same recipe with roast chicken, salmon or stir fry beef.
RELATED: Would you like to learn how to make mouth-watering, plant-based recipes? Then you might be interested in browsing all of my plant-based recipes for inspiration and easy vegetarian and vegan cooking, click here. Or come join my free Meat-free Monday challenge, join here.
One-Pan Feta Chicken
Ingredients
Warm the house while cooking a delicious, autumn one-pan dish with this feta chicken clean eating recipe. Everything goes in one pan and is cooked together for quick meal prep and lots of leftovers. To make, add several chicken breast or thighs to a shallow baking tray. Arrange cherry tomatoes and roughly chopped onions, zucchini and red, green and yellow capsicums all around the chicken pieces. In the centre, place a block of Greek or Danish feta cheese and nestle in between the chicken and veggies. Drizzle generously with olive oil and a sprinkling of Italian herbs and spices. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and feta is softened. To serve, stir the pan to distribute the creamy feta cheese and scoop a serving of chicken and veggies to add to your plate. This can be dished up on a bed of salad greens like spinach, arugula or wilted kale, or served over quinoa or brown rice.
Zucchini Cheese Fritters
Ingredients
Grate fresh zucchini, and gently squeeze out all the moisture; this is essential to avoid soggy fritters. Then add the strained zucchini to a large mixing bowl and combine with whole eggs, almond or chickpea flour, and autumn herbs and spices such as cumin, turmeric, garlic and chili. Work the mixture into a dough and form into small bite-sized pieces as a snack bite, or thin burger patties for a main meal. Pan-fry the dough mixture in a hot skillet until each side is nice and crisp and golden over top. Serve with a side salad and dollop of Greek yogurt tzatziki, a spicy Thai or creamy avocado dipping sauce.
Raw Cacao Protein Cake
Ingredients
Just because you are on a weight loss journey, doesn't mean you have to go without cake. Try this gluten-free, high protein cake by melting sugar-free dark chocolate with organic butter or coconut oil. Whisk well, and once cooled down, mix in whole eggs, stevia and vanilla extract. Then stir in the dry ingredients; a little almond flour, raw cacao powder, chocolate protein powder and baking powder. Pour the mixture into a lined cake pan and bake until slightly spongey in the middle. You can choose to ice the cake with regular icing, homemade berry compote. or just enjoy this rich, dense, and naturally gluten-free cake as is.
Nutritionist Note
All of these autumn themed recipe ideas are easy to meal prep and can help support your weight loss goals while eating clean and nutritious during the cooler months. Be sure to browse my other recipes, and if you have really enjoyed this post, you'll find more exclusive recipe and meal planning ideas share inside my Facebook Community, come join us, it's totally free to join the Community, just click here.
Emma Lisa, Nutritionist & Women's Practitioner
Emma Lisa is a Nutritionist & Women's Health Practitioner with over 14+ years experience in clean eating nutrition, meal planning and health coaching. She is a published cookbook author, passionate food recipe creator and lifestyle blogger, and an advocate for women's health and wellness. When she's not in clinic, Emma is found cooking in her test kitchen or designing in Canva as a wellness digital creator. She lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and five kids.
Healthy + happiness,
Emma Lisa xx
HEALTH & NUTRITION PRACTITIONER
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